Seldom do I find a series -- movie, TV, books, etc. -- that I am intrigued by, let alone addicted to. I’ve watched more TV series from start to finish on Netflix than I would care to admit, but usually it’s for the routine of finishing what I started. I always feel like I committed to beginning a series, so whether I enjoy it or not, I have to see it to the end, just to make sure that I gave it my all. I can say that I liked watching many series, but there are few that I’ve been addicted to. I ate up every second of Lost, and my life revolves around the "Harry Potter" enterprise. Yet I have found a new medium, and a new story line to obsess over: "Serial" podcasts.
I usually listen to music in the car, like most people. On my morning commutes to work, I feel a little guilty and worry that I should turn off Rihanna and try to listen to the news, because I can’t learn about the world through CNN updates alone. NPR puts me to sleep when I’m trying to wake myself up -- but "Serial" has been the happy balance between entertainment and educating myself a little more.
The series consists of weekly podcasts that come from the creators of "This American Life," and is hosted by Sarah Koenig. Each season reviews a true story and consists of Koenig reviewing whatever research she has collected on the topic as she walks us through the story line.
I’ve just finished season one of the two seasons that exist. It takes us through the events surrounding the murder of Hae Min Lee in 1999, and in relation: the arrest and sentencing of her ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed for this crime.
I spend every second I can in my car, listening to the podcasts. I’ll admit to leaving my house early for work, so I have an extra 10 minutes to listen to it, parked in the parking lot before I have to start work. Sometimes I choose to eat in my car instead of with my coworkers (sorry, you guys) just to hear the last few comments about suspicious details of the case. Koenig is so eloquent the way she presents everything, I feel as if she is sitting in the passenger seat, chatting to me about what she has found.
I’m particularly fond of anything crime and law related: Dateline murder trials, movies like "True Story" with Jonah Hill and James Franco, FX’s "The People Vs. O.J." (the link to my review of this series can be found here: ). As I mentioned before, I see these podcasts as having an educational aspect, since I've considered going into a career with law. Season one of "Serial" not only fulfills this craving for a crime followed to the courtroom, but can provide so much more than that. Because each episode is an hour long, and consists entirely of the facts found in research, there is an immense amount of detail that can be provided surrounding the case, which is more satisfying than a few scenes trying to sum up months worth of arguments, statements and interviews.
Or perhaps, it is not that satisfying. Koenig offers her thoughts to us with each development, but often (actually, most of the time) there is no answer to anything, and you are left second-guessing all that you’ve heard to that point. Even with the year worth of effort she puts in (and all the efforts you make to tune in), diving head first into this mess of a case, it remains that theories clash, statements don’t meet up, and questions about what actually happened and who did it remain unanswered. It is as frustrating as it is addictive to observe, but entirely worth listening to.
